Prevalence survey of musculoskeletal and connective tissue disorders in the Russian Federation

Diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissues are becoming more and more common. As these disorders are associated with temporary or permanent disability as well as a costly treatment, this socially-significant issue requires close attention. Objective: to analyze the prevalence rate of the musculoskeletal and connective tissue disorders in the Russian Federation. The analysis covers the entire country as well as various regional districts with the aim to identify the districts with the most and the least favorable situation and predict the prevalence of these diseases in Russia for 2018-2019. Materials and methods: we analyzed the prevalence of these diseases among the population of the Russian Federation for the period 2012- 2017. In this, we used the statistical reports on musculoskeletal and connective tissue diseases in Russia over 2012-2017 issued by the Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation. To predict the morbidity rate for 2018-2019, statistical processing of the primary survey data was carried out with the help of the «TREND» software. Results: in the period from 2012 to 2017, musculoskeletal system and connective tissue diseases ranked third among the most common diseases. According to the calculated average growth rates, the districts with a relatively high prevalence are the Northwestern and North Caucasian Federal Districts (+ 1.85% and + 1.14%, respectively), and the lowest prevalence was found in the Central Federal District (–1.72%). Among the regions of the Central Federal District, the maximum growth rate was recorded in the Orel Region (+1.97), and the minimum – in the Vladimir Region (–5.47). According to the prognostic models, the prevalence of musculoskeletal diseases per 100 thousand population in the Russian Federation may decrease in 2018-2019 with the following variations: from 12,818,398 to 1,305,502 cases in 2018, and from 12,614,398 up to 12,845.474 in 2019. Conclusion: according to this forecast, the prevalence rates of these diseases will remain high, therefore, further monitoring of this type of morbidity in the Russian Federation is warranted.